II.

PHILIPPINES:
SETTING
 THE LOCAL
GOVERNMENT
AND ITS
STRUCTURE
OBJECTIVES OF THE TOPIC:
1. Show the structure of the Philippine National government
2. Outline the history and background of local government
3. State the characteristics of the different branches of government
in the national level
HISTORY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
The cities, municipalities and provinces
of today evolved from:
The barangay of pre-Spanish times

Pueblos and cabildos or cities of the

colonial Spanish days

Townships of the American regime
BARANGAY
 First political and social organizations in the

Philippines and were ruled by datus

 It is the native Filipino term for village, district or

ward
 But during the Spanish regime, poblaciones were

founded with new villages called barrios which

subdivided into smaller neighborhood called sitios
SPANISH CONQUEST AND CENTRALISM
 lack of unity among warring barangays made

conquest easier for the Spaniards

 they organized pueblos or municipalities, cabildos

or cities and provincias or provinces

 barangays were made into barrios and datus were

made into cabeza de barangay with a limited

power – to collect taxes only
LOCAL GOVERNMENT DURING THE FIRST
PHILIPPINE REPUBLIC
Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo and Apolinario Mabini
recognized the importance of local government
stated in the Malolos Constitution which stipulated
in the Title XI, Article 82 that “the organization
and powers of the provincial and municipal
assemblies shall be governed by their respective
laws.”
LOCAL GOVERNMENT DURING THE
AMERICAN REGIME
 They contributed very little compared to the

strong centralism that characterized the Spanish

colonial regime
 The Commission’s blueprint for town organization

provided for a president to be elected viva voce by

residents of the town with the approval of the
Commanding Officer
THE COMMONWEALTH AND CENTRALISM
 The forms and patterns of local government during the
American Civil organization remained essentially the
same during the Commonwealth period
 The only notable changes were the transfer of central

supervision from the Executive Bureau to the

Department of Interior and the creation of more
chartered cities.
 But President Quezon was, at first, against autonomies

in the cities, that the chief executive does and should

control all local offices.
 THE
PHILIPPINE
CONSTITUTIO
N
WHAT IS CONSTITUTION?
A constitution is a system for government, codified as a written document,
which contains fundamental laws and principles. It usually contains
fundamental political principles and establishes the structure, procedures,
powers and duties of a government.
The Constitution of the Philippines is the supreme law of the Philippines.
The Constitution currently in effect was enacted in 1987, during the
administration of President Corazon C. Aquino, and is popularly known as
the “1987 Constitution”. Philippine constitutional law experts recognise
three other previous constitutions as having effectively governed the country
— the 935 Commonwealth Constitution, the 1973 Constitution, and the
1986 Freedom Constitution. Constitutions for the Philippines were also
drafted and adopted during the short-lived governments of Presidents Emilio
Aguinaldo (1898) and José P. Laurel (1943).
NATURE AND PURPOSE OF CONSTITUTION
1. It serves as the supreme or fundamental law
2. It establishes basic framework and underlying

principles of government Constitutional Law

Body of law derived from country’s written constitution.
It lays down and guides the duties and powers of the
government and the duties and rights of its citizens
and residents.
KIND OF CONSTITUTION
1. As to their origin and history

a) Conventional or enacted

b) Cumulative or evolved

2. As to their form

a) Written

b) Unwritten

3. As to manner of amending them

a) Rigid or inelastic

b) Flexible or elastic
CONSTITUTION DISTINGUISHED FROM STATUTE
1. Constitution is a legislation direct from the people

2. Constitution merely states the general framework of the law

3. Constitution is intended not merely to meet existing conditions

but to govern the future

4. Constitution is the supreme or fundamental law Statute

1. Is a legislation from the people’s representatives.

2. It provides the details of the subject of which it treats
3. Is intended primarily to meet existing conditions only
4. Statute conforms to Constitution
PARTS OF THE 1987 CONSTITUTION
The Constitution is divided into 18 parts, excluding the Preamble, which
are called Articles. The Articles are as follows:
Article I - National Territory
Article II - Declaration of Principles and State Policies
Article III - Bill of Rights Article IV – Citizenship
Article V – Suffrage Article VI - Legislative Department
Article VII - Executive Department
Article VIII - Judicial Department
Article IX - Constitutional Commission
Article X - Local Government
Article XI - Accountability of Public Officers
Article XII - National Economy and Patrimony
Article XIII - Social Justice and Human Rights
Article XIV - Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture and Sports
Article XV - The Family Article XVI - General Provisions
Article XVII - Amendments or Revisions
Article XVIII - Transitory Provisions
PREAMBLE OF THE 1987 CONSTITUTION
The Preamble reads:
“We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty
God, in order to build a just and humane society, and establish a
Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations,
promote the common good, conserve and develop our
patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity, the
blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law
and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and
peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.”
Significant Features of the 1987 Constitution
The Constitution establishes the Philippines as a "democratic and
republican State", where "sovereignty resides in the people and
all government authority emanates from them". (Section 1,
Article II) Consistent with the doctrine of separation of powers,
the powers of the national government are exercised in main by
three branches —the executive branch headed by the President,
the legislative branch composed of Congress and the judicial
branch with the Supreme Court occupying the highest tier of
the judiciary.
Historical Constitution

Malolos Constitution (1899)

Commonwealth and Third Republic

(1935)
Japanese Sponsored Republic (1943)

Martial Law Constitution (1973)

Freedom Constitution (1986)

 Malolos Constitution (1899)
First Republic
The Malolos Constitution was the first republican constitution in Asia. It
declared that sovereignty resides exclusively in the people, stated basic civil
rights, separated the church and state, and called for the creation of an
Assembly of Representatives to act as the legislative body. It also called for
a Presidential form of government with the president elected for a term of
four years by a majority of the Assembly. It was titled "Constitución
política", and was written in Spanish following the declaration of
independence from Spain, proclaimed on January 20, 1899, and was enacted
and ratified by the Malolos Congress, a Congress held in Malolos, Bulacan.
 Commonwealth and Third Republic (1935)
1935 Constitution
The 1935 Constitution was written in 1934, approved and adopted
by the Commonwealth of the Philippines (1935–1946) and later
used by the Third Republic of the Philippines (1946–1972). It
was written with an eye to meeting the approval of the United
States Government as well, so as to ensure that the U.S. would
live up to its promise to grant the Philippines independence and
not have a premise to hold onto its possession on the grounds
that it was too politically immature and hence unready for full,
real independence.
 Japanese Sponsored Republic (1943)
Second Philippine Republic
The 1943 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, composed of a preamble and
twelve articles, creates a Republican state with a powerful executive branch and
subordinate legislative and judicial branches. The executive power is vested in the
President, who is to be elected by the members of the National Assembly from
among themselves. The President is the head of government, and commander-in-
chief of the Armed Forces. The powers of the President are: to veto any bill of the
Assembly, to promulgate regulations when the Assembly is not in session and in
times of war or national emergency, to declare martial law, to suspend the privilege
of the writ of habeas corpus, and to appoint the members of the Council of State and
officials of the local government. A limited legislative power is exercised by the
unicameral National Assembly whose members, like the President, are not directly
elected by the people.
 Martial Law Constitution (1973)
1973 Constitution of the Philippines
The 1973 Constitution, promulgated after Marcos declaration of
martial law, was supposed to introduce a parliamentary-style
government. Legislative power was vested in a National
Assembly whose members were elected for six-year terms. The
President was ideally supposed to be elected as the symbolic
and purely ceremonial head of state from the Members of the
National Assembly for a six-year term and could be re-elected
to an unlimited number of terms.
 Freedom Constitution (1987)
1987 Constitution of the Philippines
Following the EDSA People Power Revolution that removed
President Ferdinand E. Marcos from office, the new President,
Corazon C. Aquino issued Proclamation No. 3 as a provisional
constitution. It adopted certain provisions from the 1973
constitution and granted the President broad powers to
reorganise the government and remove officials from office,
and mandated that the president would appoint a commission to
draft a new constitution.
 Basic Principles Underlying the New Constitution
1. Recognition of the Aid of Almighty God
2. Sovereignty of the People
3. Renunciation of war as an instrument of national policy
4. Supremacy of civilian authority over the military
5. Separation of Church and State
6. Recognition of the importance of the family as basic social institution and of the vital role of
youth in nation building
7. Guarantee of human rights
8. Government through suffrage
9. Separation of Power
10. Independence of Judiciary
11. Guarantee of local autonomy
12. High sense of public service morality and accountability
13. Nationalization of natural resources and certain private enterprises affected by public Interest
14. Non – suability of the state
15. Rule of the majority; and
16. Government of laws and not men.
 FILIPINO
TRAITS AND
VALUES
 Values are integral part of every culture. With worldview and personality, they
generate behavior. Being part of a culture that shares a common core set of
values creates expectations and predictability without which a culture would
disintegrate and its member would lose their personal identity and sense of
worth. Values tell people what is good, beneficial important, useful, beautiful,
desirable, constructive, etc. They answer the question of why people do what
they do. Values help people solve common problems for survival. Over time,
they become the roots of traditions that groups of people find important in their
day-to-day lives.

Filipino values may be attributed into many influences. These can be from its
ancestors or influenced fro its colonizers. Some values are bipolar, meaning it
can be positive or negative.
1. Bayanihan system or spirit of kinship and camaraderie
2. Damayan System
3. Close family relations
4. Fun – loving trait
5. Hospitality
6. Compassionate
7. Regionalism
8. Friendly
9. Flexible or magaling makibagay
10. Religious
11. Respect to elders
12. Remedyo attitude
13. Matiyaga
14. Utang na loob
1. Bahala na attitude
2. Colonial complex or blue – seal mentality
3. Crab mentality
4. Euphemism
5. Filipino time
6. Gaya – gaya attitude
7. Jackpot mentality
8. Kapalaran values
9. Mañana habit
10. Ningas – cogon
11. Oversensitive
12. Lack of sportsmanship
13. Pakikisama
14. Tsamba lang attitude
Theories on the
Origin of the
Filipinos
Migration Theory
proposed by H. Otley Beyer

The ancestors of Filipinos came in “wave of

migration”
First to reach the archipelago was “Dawn man”

Next to settle are the Negritos (25,000-30,000

years ago)
- Were described to have black skin, dark kinky hair,
round black eyes, flat noses, usually height of 5 feet.
Migration Theory
Third to arrive were the Indonesians

-they were seafarers and tool-users

INDONESIAN A

-was tall, slender with light complexion, and thin

lips
INDONESIAN B

-shorter, with bulky body, dark complexion and

thick lips
Migration Theory
The last to reach the archipelago were the

Malays
-they reached the Philippines by the use of
“balangay”
-they introduced the iron age culture
Pre – Colonial Philippines
Cultural Evolution of the Early Filipinos
It was believed that the first settlers of the

Philippines came by land bridges from Mainland

Asia during Pleistocene era
Western historians assume that the aborigines of

the Philippines were the Negritos

Mainland Origin Hypothesis

Proposed by Peter Bellwood and K.C. Chang

Posited that early inhabitants originated from

South China and Taiwan

They gradually replaced the hunting and

gathering populations
Mainland Origin Hypothesis

Historians presuppose that between 300 and

200 B.C inhabitants of Malay- Polynesian
descent settled in Philippine archipelago.
-they were mainly an agricultural and fishing
people.
-there were 30 to 100 families known as the
“barangay”
Mainland Origin Hypothesis
The structuring of the early society has been

achieved in response to the needs of prehistoric

Philippine communities
“A country’s past history unveils its cultural

tradition.”
Derivation of
Archipelago’s
Name
The Philippines
•Early Chinese traders & geographers during the

pre- Spanish era already knew the Philippines.

Sung Dynasty
•Referred the Philippine Island as “Ma – yi”

Chau Ju – Kua
•A Chinese trade official

•Gave detailed account of his travel of various

parts of the islands in 1225.

•He called the Philippines “Ma-i”
Ferdinand Magellan
•In 1521, he named the islands “Islas de San

Lazaro”
“Filipinas”
•The name ‘Philippines’ came

•Given by the Spanish navigator Ruy Lopez de

Villalobos (1543).
The rare Asian map published in Venice, Italy
Fr. Juan J. Delgado
•Jesuit Historian

•Called Manila “Pearl of the Orient” since it

became a rich outlet of Asian trade. While the

country’s foremost hero, Dr. Jose Rizal gave the
name “Pearl of the Orient Seas” to his Native
land (1896).
Filipinos who proposed new names for the
Philippines
Artemio Ricarte
•Proposed the name “Rizaline Republic”

•a Katipunan General
Filipinos who proposed new names for the
Philippines
Ferdinand Marcos
•Former President

•Proposed the name

‘Maharlika’
The Laguna
Copperplate
Inscription
Let’s have some facts……
•Hieroglyphics – ancient Egypt
•Cuneiform – Sumerians of Mesopotamia
•Baybayin – refers to the precolonial
system of Filipino writing
•Alibata – first two letters in the ancient
Arabic Alphabet
LAGUNA COPPERPLATE INSCRIPTION
* It outdates the Sucesos de las Islas
Filipinas in terms of historical
documents in the Philippines
* 20x30cm in size with words directly embossed onto the plate
Authenticity
1.Correctness of the languages
and words used would have
been very hard for a forger to
have contrived.
2.Inscription process
Translation
Mabuhay! Taóng Siyaka 822, buwán ng Waisaka, ayon
sa aghámtalà. Ang ikaapat na araw ng pagliít ng buwán,
Lunes. Sa pagkakátaóng itó, si Dayang Angkatán
sampû ng kaniyáng kapatíd na nagngangalang Buká
(bulaklák), na mga anák ng Kagalang-galang na si
Namwarán, ay ginawaran ng isáng kasulatán ng lubós
na kapatawarán mulâ sa Punong Pángkalahatán sa
Tundún (Tondo) sa pagkatawán ng Punong Kagawad
ng Pailáh na si Jayadewa.
Translation
Sa atas na itó, sa pamamagitan ng Tagasulat, ang
Kagalang-galang na si Namwarán ay pinatawad
na sa lahát at inalpasán sa kaniyáng utang at
kaniyáng mga náhulíng kabayarán na 1 katî at 8
suwarna sa harapán ng Kagalang-galang na
Punong Kagawad ng Puliran na si Kasumurán,
(sa kapangyarihan ng Kagalang-galang na
Punong Kagawad ng Pailáh).
Translation
(At) Dahil sa matapát na paglilingkód ni Namwarán bilang isáng
sakop ng Punò, kinilala ng Kagalang-galang at batikáng Punong
Kagawad ng Binwangan ang lahát ng nangabubuhay pang
kamag-anak ni Namwarán na inangkín ng Punò ng Dewata, na
kinatawán ng Punò ng Medáng. Samakatuwíd, ang mga
nangabubuhay na inapó ng Kagalang-galang na si Namwarán ay
pinatawad na sa anumán at lahát ng pagkakautang nito (ng
Kagalang-galang na si Namwarán) sa Punò ng Dewata, Itó, kung
sakalì, ay magpapahayag kanínumán na mulâ ngayón kung may
taong magsasabing hindî pa alpás sa utang ang Kagalang-galang....
 Racial Origin
•Austronesian
•Core Population Theory
•Peter Bellwood
 Lessons…
Everything has to be
documented to be
considered legal
Thank You Very Much
for Listening.